40 Kilometers of Soppin' Wet Fun

This evening I had the opportunity to fulfill a long-time goal, riding a 40k time trial in less than 50 minutes. The venue was the Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, NC. If you love going fast on wheels, whether ti be NASCAR or cycling, this is the place for you. Lowe's is a 1.5 mile track, nearly perfectly flat except for the short pitches crossing onto or out of the banking, and has silky-smooth pavement.

Though the venue is only second in speed to a velodrome or high-altitude course, the weather was not cooperative. It poured all day and was still raining heavily through the evening. I'm an optimist and kept hoping and believing that it would clear up, if only for an hour, even if it were an hour of drizzling, but the steady rain just kept coming. What had been anger melted into acceptance as I went through the five-stages of grief realizing the near-impossibility of achieving my goal--may as well get in a good workout I told myself.

In the end it was a fun ride. I had been feeling blah all week sine a hard Sunday workout and the sustained LT effort of a 40k TT seemed to shake the junk out of my legs. I finished in 50:28, which made me question if I did indeed have another 30-seconds in me and perhaps a more focused and determined resolve would have resulted in a 49:59. Regardless, it my PR for the distance, and with a fast 20-minute run afterward, made for a good workout. So, all-in-all mission accomplished. A sub-50 40k TT remains on the to-do-before-I-die list.